The real Teflon Don is free and doing business in New York City. He wears a tuxedo, with a huge gold chain dangling below a silk bow tie, and has an unlit cigar drooping from his mouth, as he stands prominently in the background of the biggest fight at Madison Square Garden since Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier in 1971.

The fight is so big it was sold out for weeks and expected to generate more than $50 million in pay-per-view sales. He cackles at the thought, as he didwhen shaking Al Pacino’s hand in “Devil’s Advocate.”

If it’s a big show, Don King will be there.

That King was here blabbering incessantly during the bout between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis last night is a bigger accomplishment than either fighter becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. After all, whom did they beat? King beat the Feds three times, Mike Tyson’s one-way ticket to self-destruction and the rest of boxing’s piranhas to remain one of boxing’s top promoters.

Only King could deftly sidestep Tyson’s corpse and slither next to the side of Holyfield. Every time he is seemingly down for the count, he arises without glaze in his eyes or marks on his face.

King found Holyfield at the perfect time. It was before the first Tyson fight, when the current WBA and IBF champ reached his lowest point. He had no title. He had looked shabby against blown-up heavyweight Bobby Czyz. He had lost for the second time in three fights against Riddick Bowe in the fight before Czyz.

King told Holyfield if he wanted Tyson – and what would have been Holyfield’s last big fight had he lost – he had to fork over promotion rights for future fights. King masterfully hedged his bet. It’s still paying out. While Tyson rots in a Maryland jail cell, King got to cash a $10 million check to do absolutely nothing for Holyfield-Lewis but be himself. Which meant the usual verbosity:

*”Every little tot will know about this fight. The laity and the churches will know; the inner city and the outer city. You will think it’s Hollywood in New York on Saturday night. We’ll have our largest-ever cadre of movie stars.”

*”We have sold this fight to Bosnia and we have a moratorium on March 13. They won’t shoot each other on March 13. They will watch Holyfield and Lewis.”

*”Some people have tried to pour cold water on this event, but when you pour cold water on it, the water starts to sizzle and steam.”

King dubbed this fight “King’s Crowning Glory” and said, “It’s two kings fighting for three kingdoms.”

In reality, it was a way to put himself on the cover of the show, as he always does. Felix Trinidad’s fight against Pernell Whitaker was called “The King is Back,” which made for a cute double entendre. Was it Trinidad – who endured a long layoff from the ring – coming back? Or was it King – who recently scored another victory in the courts – coming back?

Then there was “King’s Dream” for the fight between Tim Witherspoon and Tony Tubbs in Atlanta on Jan. 17, 1986, Martin Luther King’s birthday. The fight poster featured a picture of Martin Luther King next to The Don’s.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than this, Howard,” King trumpeted to Howard Stern before Stern finally tired of his rambling homily.

The Teflon Don lives. At 67, the great Puppet Master still pulls the strings of boxing.